BEST Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

A thoroughly delicious and fuss-free beef stroganoff for your slow cooker! Full of flavor with a creamy sauce you can enjoy over egg noodles or rice, this is a guaranteed family favorite!

I’ve always been a fan of rich and creamy sauces and beef stroganoff is a prime example. Whether it’s a more labor intensive gourmet version (recipe to come!) or a simple but thoroughly delicious version for the crock pot, I love a good stroganoff. With it’s robust flavors of beef and mustard combined with the delicate flavors of cream and herbs, it’s a dish I always look forward to sitting down to and makes for the perfect comfort food.

I threw this together this past Sunday morning before we headed out to church so it would be ready when we got home. When we opened the door we were met with that delicious aroma and I could hardly wait to get the noodles boiled so we could sit down and enjoy our family dinner.

For an extra creamy stroganoff, add some more cream cheese and sour cream and adjust the salt and pepper accordingly. Whether you “up” the creaminess or make it as written, you’re going to love the flavor of this Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff!

If you don’t already own a slow cooker, you should really consider getting one. They make life much easier for those busy days when the last thing you want to do after a long day is come home and cook. Instead, you can come home to a ready meal. The slow cooker I use and love is this Stay Or Go 7 Quart Slow Cooker. It’s portable if you need to take it to a potluck and it’s also big. I got this large one because I can still use it for smaller quantities but I can also use it if I’m expecting extra guests.

Let’s get started!

Use whatever beef you can find the best deal on, including the cheap cuts. The slow cooking process will tenderize even the toughest cuts so the result is deliciously fork-tender beef. Slice the beet into short, thin strips. (That’s a personal preference – I don’t like chunky beef cubes for stroganoff, I reserve those for stews.)

Clean and slice the mushrooms.

Chop the onions and mince the garlic.

Place the ingredients in the slow cooker in the following order: Onions/garlic, mushrooms, beef.

In a bowl, stir together the broth, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, thyme, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the beef.

Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or on HIGH for 4-5 hours. About 20 minutes before done, dissolve 2 tablespoons cornstarch in 1/2 cup broth and add it to the slow cooker. Stir and continue to cook for another 20 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in the cream cheese until dissolved.

Stir in the sour cream and chopped fresh parsley and heat through.

Add salt and pepper to taste and add a little more mustard if desired.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve been using a ready-made packaged mix to make this in the slow cooker. No more – this was super easy and delicious. Even on a week day i can slice down all the ingredients the night before, assemble in the morning and come home to a great meal.

Hi Julia! Thank you and welcome! You can either simply leave the mushrooms out and have a creamy meat sauce or, towards the end (like the last 15 minutes or so) add another vegetable that you like (eg, broccoli). Happy Cooking!

Thanks a lot, Kimberly, for your kind reply! Apologies if it has been discussed elsewhere but I would like to purchase a slow cooker (all your recipes sound great!) but am wondering whether all the “goodness” might be gone after so many hours of cooking…(

Definitely not in terms of flavor, Julia. The slow cooking process only enhances the flavor! In terms of nutrition, some nutrients will always be lost through the process of cooking (while other nutrients are only made available through the process of cooking – for example, cooking tomatoes releases certain nutrients that aren’t available if it’s eaten raw). But the biggest culprit of nutrient loss is high heat cooking, and that’s an advantage of slow cookers. Even though some nutrients will be lost because of the length of cooking time, the advantage is that slow cookers use very low heat. Even the “high” setting (which will reduce the cooking time) is relatively low heat. So, whether you’re making a stir-fry in 15 minutes or a beef stroganoff in 6 hours, it may very well be a toss-up as to which dish will have retained the most nutrients.

Hi Richard, the original version of beef stroganoff published in a Russian cookbook in 1871 doesn’t even have onions or mushrooms let alone sugar or wine. It was made simply with beef, prepared mustard (no powder), bouillon and sour cream. Over time different variations were created and here on The Daring Gourmet we have two so far – this one for the slow cooker and a vegetarian version. At some point I’ll also be publishing my classic stovetop version.

HI Kimberly, so I’m using beef bouillon. I’m gonna double the sauce cause i loooove sauce, so using 1 cube gives me 2 cups of water. Would I avoid the addition of salt completely since bouillon is salty?

It didn’t turn out so well :( I cut my beef too thin and so it became grainy and into bits. I think I put a little more than 2 TBSP of dijon cause the taste was off. Overall, thumbs down for the family. I have no idea how to repair it :( BUT I’m gonna try again in a few months.

Oh, that’s too bad :( Not sure what could have gone wrong with the flavor – even adding a little more mustard wouldn’t have ruined it (unless you simply don’t like mustard). But the texture of the beef could have been an overall turnoff, sure. Next time you can also try slicing the beef a little thicker and then only cooking it for 4-5 hours on “high”.

We didn’t like it. Made it to the recipe. Meat was fine, but too much thyme. Adding some wine and more sour cream to try to salvage for tomorrow. Unfortunately, lots of leftovers. Sad to think a cow’s life was wasted on this. That’s the only reason I’ll try to salvage. I also wasted really good homemade noodles on this dish. Zero stars for this one, even if the rating scale below will go no lower than 3 stars. Very disappointed and won’t be fooled again.

Just started this in the crockpot for tonight….can’t wait for our family to try it. Looks fabulous! I started it on low at 11, & need to serve it around 4:30. What time would you recommend turning the heat up? I prefer to cook low & slow so that the meat is as tender as possible, but got a late start today. :(. Also, used fresh thyme since I had some. Many thanks!

Hi Jennifer, if you started it at 11am that will give you plenty of time. It should be done by, or even likely before, 4:30pm. Test the meat around 3pm to see if it’s tender enough. If so, you can turn it off and just keep it at “warm” until you’re ready to eat. Fresh herbs are always better than dried :)

Oops, I thought you said you were cooking it on “low”, Jennifer. In any case, because the meat is cut into strips it will be “done” well before 7 hours, it’s just a question of how tender you want it and that’s largely determined by what cut of beef you used. Is this all sounding too complicated now? :) Don’t fret one bit, it will all turn out! Bon appetit!

Hi Annie, I would add the wine in at the very beginning when you would normally the beef broth and use it in place of the beef broth so it isn’t too liquidy. So you can either use a whole cup of red wine or half wine/half beef broth. However much you add, I would add a little beef bouillon granules in place of the beef broth.

Thank you for this awesome recipe! Made it today. Added 1/2 cup Cream Sherry and doubled the cornstarch to balance the extra liquid. Added some of the warm liquid to the cream cheese so it wouldn’t clump when put in the crock pot. Then added 1 cup If sour cream after turning it off so the cream wouldn’t separate. It is visually appealing and fantastic tasting! 5 stars!

I plan to make this recipe for a church group of about 40 people this Tuesday 10/27/2015. I noticed that the serving size of this recipe is only 4. If I make about 5 batches with small serving portions, do you think that will be enough? Also, will I be able to keep the exact ingredient measurements without altering the flavor? Oh, any suggestions on how to keep the noodles warm for about hour after cooking -there are no stoves available?

Hi Tammy, five batches should stretch pretty far, especially since I’m assuming there will be some sides to go with it? Without having a stove, the best way to keep the noodles warm would probably be to use a couple or three big crock pots. Just put the noodles in there and put it on the “warm” setting. Toss the noodles with a little bit of oil just so they don’t dry out too much. Hope your church dinner is a success!

I have this going on in my crock pot right now! It smells sooo good and still has a few hours or so to go. I added a few more herbs; some rosemary, a tiny pinch of Italian herb mix and I have a bay leaf just hanging out on top. Also I used stock as that is what I had on hand. I’m really excited that this recipe doesn’t use condensed soups-just straightforward whole foods. Great blog, I am bookmarking this site.

Hi Daring Gourmet, My family is salivating over the pictures of your Beef Stroganoff from the crock pot. Question: I have a really long commute day, I leave about 6:30am, and I’m home about 8:00pm. I have a programmable crock pot, so I can set it to cook for 8 hours on low, then go to warm. Will this be too long for the meat to simmer? Will I end up with shredded beef? Please tell me it would be fine, I’d love to make this recipe! Thanks

Hi Clare, thank you! :) It largely depends on the cut of beef you use – the leaner it is, the less cooking time it needs and yes, if over-cooked you’ll end up with shredded beef. If it’s going to be sitting on the warm setting for a while I would aim for a cook time of 6-7 hours.

Just made this today. Prepared vegetables and beef the night before. Cooked on low for 8 hours and it looked just like your photos above. As soon as I started to stir in the cream cheese, it turned into shredded beef. Still quite tasty and my husband loved it. Next time I will cut the beef a little thicker and reduce the time to 7 hours. . .maybe that will do the trick. Overall, it was just what I expected and I will definitely try it again. Very easy and convenient.

Awesome, jroller! Yes, the size of the beef chunks and the cut of beef itself makes a difference. The leaner the beef the more tender it will become more quickly whereas a tougher cut needs longer to become tender. I’ve done it a variety of ways but typically I like to cook it on high for about 4 hours.

I followed the recipe to a T and it turned out amazing! I was a little unsure how a skirt steak would turn out because it’s usually pretty tough but in the crock pot it was nice and tender. Thanks so much for this recipe, it will be in our regular rotation now!!

Hi TJ, yes. If you cooked it on low the entire time just leave it on low for those final additions. If you cooked it high the entire time you can keep it on high, just note the direction “simmer for another 20 minutes or until thickened“, so you may not need to cook it that long if it’s on high.

Have you ever added a can or two of, “Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup”?1 I’m making this recipe, as I type this…and I’m wondering how it would do. As of now, I have followed your recipe to a T. Yet, I look forward to hearing from you!

Recipe sounds delicious. What cut of meat do you recommend? Also want to make your Harisa soup that didn’t specify the type of meat either. Thinking Chuck roast for the soup. Would appreciate your advice. Thank you.

Hi Cindy, thank you! Yes, chuck roast is a great choice for both of these dishes. It’s what I’d recommend for most dishes that involve long, slow cooking times because the meat is going to become very tender anyway so no need to spend the extra $$ on leaner cuts. Plus, in the case of slow cooker dishes like this stroganoff that cook for many hours, a very lean cut of beef will fall apart and not hold its shape (ie, a shredded consistency).

Hi Bekka, Had plans to make this three nights ago. I ran out of time so tossed the stroganoff into freezer. Would like to make it today. Can I put the beef strips into the slow cooker frozen if I rinse and pat them dry?

Thank you so much for responding. Instead of cooking the beef frozen I defrosted it in the Microwave which I hate to do. Normally you end up with partially cooked meat. I was very careful and took each piece out as it defrosted enough. Made the stroganoff and we LOVED, LOVED it! The best I’ve made according to my son. Barbara

I made this tonight for my wife and I. I was super worried because she has never liked beef stroganoff, where I grew up eating it in a regular basis. Needless to say, she LOVED it. I was told that I have to make it more often. Thanks so much for this awesome and easy recipe. I’m so happy because now I can once again enjoy an old favorite.

Hi Elizabeth, it should freeze really well, but I would recommend omitting the sour cream and add that later once it’s thawed and you’re reheating it. There’s nothing “wrong” with leaving it in to freeze but the texture of sour cream does change and curdles a bit.

Thanks very much. I think that it would be OK to add the cream cheese before freezing. I have some stew meat cut into bigger chunks that I was thinking of cutting into slices. I saw that you prefer other cuts of meat because of the ‘chunkiness’ of stew meat, but sliced up might be alright.

I’m cooking this now. I love stroganoff but my husband says he hates it, although in 10 years I’ve never seen him even try a stroganoff. So I’m going to tell him it’s a beef and mustard casserole hehe, hoping this recipe will change his opinion. Can I replace the cream cheese for normal cream or more sour cream? I don’t have any cream cheese and don’t really want to go out to buy it

Hi Nada, that’s a clever angle, let’s cross our fingers that it works! :) You can use extra sour cream and some heavy cream but it won’t taste the same. You’ll need to taste it after those additions and see if it needs anything else to punch up the flavor a bit. Let us know what your husband thinks!

Hi Kimberly! I’m considering trying this some time in the next week, but I don’t like mustard at all. Is there anything I can substitute the mustard with? I know it’s mostly just for flavor, but I’m good at picking out the things I don’t like, even if I’m not told before hand that it is.

Hi Angel, that’s a tough one. I can’t think of anything that would make a good substitute for that unique mustard flavor. I’ve heard of people substituting horseradish before but I’m not sure how that one would go over in a stroganoff…

Hi. I have just put all the initial ingredients into my slow cooker as per the recipe. There does not seem to be enough liquid. Should the liquid cover the meat? I just may be used to other recipes where the liquid always covers the meat. Or have I done something wrong?

Hi Annie! How high the liquid comes will depend on the size/diameter of the slow cooker so that will vary. No, the liquid doesn’t need to cover the meat and you should be good to go. Happy slow cooking!

Came across this recipe after searching ‘crockpot stroganoff’ and sooooo glad I did! Most delicious I have ever had. My boyfriend went back for seconds, so needless to say, I have to save this recipe to my repertoire. I used inexpensive stew beef that I had in the freezer and sliced it into thin bite-sized pieces, thanks to the recommendation (or I would have cooked them in chunks….) so glad I did. Cooked on low for 7 hours. Can’t wait to make it again when it’s cold outside. Perfect with No-Yolks egg noodles. Thank you so much!!! I can’t say enough good things about this recipe :) scrumptious!

OMG! I just made this tonight and it was an instant family favorite!! I have been seeking an easy stroganoff (it was a serious craving, but I didn’t want to have slave over the stove) and this works great for a working family! This has now been shared on FB and added to my crock pot recipe book! Thank you!

I am planning to try this in a couple of days, but there will only be 2 of us (and we don’t do leftovers), so wondering if I need to reduce the cook time by an hour – will likely cook on low. Would 6-6.5 hours suffice? Thanks!

I tried using the Slow Rice Cooker to prepare the Beef Stroganoff.I set it for 6 hours.But after two hours I checked that broth had not warmed up as yet.Pardon the ignorance as I have never used Rice cooker for anything besides rice.

Hi Kimberly, tried your recipe tonight and it was a definite hit!! I will keep this in my collection of “must do again” recipes 😊 Great flavour and didn’t see any reason to change a thing – thank you so much for sharing!

Hi Malcolm, you bet! You can find beef broth in any grocery store. It comes in liquid form in cans or cartons or in bouillon cube form (usually 1 cube per 2 cups of water). Take a look at the ingredients list and choose whichever looks best to you. Happy cooking!

Doubled the recipe and served it for dinner tonight. Reall good. It should be noted to add salt/pepper/mustard to taste. The mustard is what makes it really stand out, in my opinion. I will definitely be making this again. My kids liked it too, which is saying a lot!

Hi Julie, Dijon is preferable (different flavor profile) but yes, you can use regular mustard. Probably the same amount. You can start with slightly less and taste it at the end to see if it needs more.

I’ve made a similar dish for groups, using hamburger instead. I go heavier on the onions and garlic, add red wine, a spoonful of tomato paste, substitute crème fraiche for the sour cream and add a key herb: dill. I’ve never tried cream cheese, but that sounds good. The mustard is a good suggestion too – but I’d never use regular yellow mustard as one of your respondents suggested.

This is in my slow cooker right now, and I’m counting on it being as wonderful as everyone says. However, a 10-minute prep time is misleading, unless you have all your ingredients pulled out of your pantry, cupboard, refrigerator…..measured and prepped….meat cut up, garlic minced, parsley chopped…..and all you need to do is stand there and dump it in the cooker. Unfortunately, that is not a privilege I have, so prep time was more like 30 minutes.

Hi Mady, since the brisket is already cooked there’s really no need to go the slow cooker route since it largely involves just reheating the beef. I would just cook it on the stovetop. I would saute the onions/garlic/mushrooms for 10 minutes or so in a large skillet, add the beef and the ingredients from Step 2 and simmer it covered for 25 minutes. Stir in the broth/cornstarch thickener and stir until thickened, 2 minutes or so, then stir in the cream cheese, sour cream and parsley and heat through. Add salt/pepper/mustard to taste. From start to finish the cooking time is only about 35 minutes.

A+ RECIPE! Sundays are my day to cook and I made this for the family. Everyone loved it, not a drop left, and I’ve been told I have to make it again soon. As easy as this was to make, that’s a welcome request. Thanks for making me a cooking star today :)

I am always looking for new, healthy ideas for my family. Easy and fast for a busy schedule. I tried your recipe for the Beef Stroganoff and it was wonderful . I have a daughter and husband that are hard to please and they say “it’s a keeper”. I read a lot of the reviews and could not understand what they could of done wrong. I used sirloin steak cause I am real picky about my meat, but sure other cuts would work as well. Ty , Sincerely, Joy

All reviews sound wonderful. We are not huge fans of Dijon mustard, though. How strong does that flavor come through? Would we ruin taste by only using 1TBSP instead of 2? Thanks. Looking forward to trying this.

It’s really very mild, Angela. But if you’re worried the taste will be too pronounced for you, start with 1 tablespoon and then at the very end give it a taste and determine whether you think you’d like to add another tablespoon to it.

Awesome! Thank you! And I can still cut the lamb into the same size pieces and use the same temperature and time settings as I would for the beef? (Sorry, just like to double check because of the differing nature of each type of meat/protein).

Hi Mary, no, you really can’t. It adds a slight bit of tang to balance out the other flavors. I don’t think anyone would guess there’s cream cheese in it. That said, that’s coming from someone who loves cream cheese :)

Hi there. Am looking to make this to pop in the freezer to have a hearty supper on hand after our baby arrives!! Can I freeze the complete recipe – dairy ingredients and all, or should I freeze at a certain point and put the dairy in only when ready to defrost and eat? Thanks.

Hi Brenda, yes, you can safely freeze the whole cooked dish, including with the sour cream, and then thaw and reheat. The only thing I wouldn’t freeze is the pasta. Congratulations on your soon-arriving baby!!

Thank you for this great version of BStrog. Loved it !!! Have printed off your recipe to put in my favorites. Will make again. I only changed garlic cloves to 3 and added 3 tspns of beef stock powder to the 1 cup of broth.

My husband and I are making this tomorrow and very much looking forward to it! The only ingredient we don’t have is fresh button/cremini mushrooms. Can we use frozen shittake mushrooms instead? Otherwise I can run to the store. Thanks!

I haven’t made Stroganoff in years but suddenly had a hankering. THIS WAS DELISH! Only changes were to brown the beef first, and subbed a little port wine for some of the broth. My husband bought skirt steak instead of chuck or round, which wasn’t the best choice, but it was still very tasty (although a little chewy still after hours of cooking). Used fresh thyme from my herb garden, and served over buttered egg noodles with a lovely green salad from our garden. I had cream cheese & sour cream cream on hand, so it was really easy. It won’t be another 20 years before I make this again – it will go in my rotation. Many thanks, and I especially appreciate the use of all fresh ingredients instead of canned stuff.

I have not made beef stroganoff in a very long time and was looking for a crockpot recipe and came upon this recipe and am so glad I did. This was so delicious and creamy and much better than my old recipe. I went back for seconds which I normally don’t do. I will be taking the leftovers to work tomorrow for lunch. I will be making this again and again and highly recommend this delicious beef stroganoff recipe!

Very yummy, but egg noodles are not gluten free… I was thinking maybe I could put it over mashed potatoes? I don’t love the starch. So maybe gluten-free pasta? Or brown rice? I’d love any suggestions you may have.

First of all it looks delicious! It’s hard to find a good stroganoff recipe! I will be making it tomorrow for dinner and will post what the family says! Secondly, I just got new knives for Christmas from my husband!! I love my wusthof knives! Great knives !!

I made this for dinner tonight. I added extra mushrooms then what the recipe called for, because we love mushrooms. I used stew meat and sliced them up a bit. I won’t do that next time as the meat got really tender and shredded up. It was still delicious it was like a beefy creamy rich ragu. Adding this to my Sunday dinner rotation. Thank you for a nice easy guide to make a tasty and delicious meal.

Is it Ok to liquefy the cream cheese before adding to the stroganoff? No matter how small I make the cheese cubes or how soft it is when I add them or how long I leave them in to melt before stirring, I end up with shredded beef from stirring to dissolve the cheese! I have made stroganoff numerous times and just once would like a smooth sauce without little clumps of cream cheese!! Help!

I dont understand why it says in the first directions to combie the broth, mustard etc, pour over the beef in the slow cooker but then in very next step says to add it 20 minutes before its done?! Which is it lol

Love the reviews on this dish. I did improvise. Left over eye round that was a little tougher than I expected. Used left over mushroom gravy, 1 cup beef broth, lipton onion soup packet (ran out of onions, Lol), can of condensed mushroom soup. Added powdered mustard, and used small amount of sour cream in the end. Came out so great. Put it in my dutch oven for 2 hours. Thanks Kim!

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Unless otherwise stated, all images, content and recipes are original and are the sole property of Kimberly Killebrew, daringgourmet.com. No photographs or other content may be used without prior written consent.